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Dr. B., Veterinarian

Category: Dog Veterinary

Satisfied Customers: 16285

Experience: Hello, I am a small animal veterinarian and am happy to discuss any concerns & questions you have on any species.

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My German Shepard puppy 5 months old started throwing up

Customer Question

My German Shepard puppy 5 months old started throwing up yesterday, nothing will stay on her stomach not even water, last night I got her to eat a little bit, but during the night she threw up again, this morning she has blood in her urine, what can I do to help her

Hello & welcome, I am Dr. B, a licensed veterinarian and I would like to help you with your wee one today.

Based on her signs, we sound to have multiple issues here. Though I would first note that if you think she could have eaten anything harmful or toxic (ie rat bait, human drugs, etc), then we'd want to have her seen urgently (since the blood in urine could be related to clotting issues). Though if we can rule that out, then we'd be more suspicious of an issue like bacterial or viral gastroenteritis, pancreatitis, parasites/protozoa infections, or general dietary indiscretions,

Now in this situation, we need to tread with care if she cannot even keep water down. This is because dogs that nauseous tend to be the ones that need us to bypass their mouths with injectable anti-vomiting medication by their vet. That said, if she has managed not to vomit for a few hours, you could try her with an antacid. Common pet safe OTC ones we can use include:

Tagamet (More Info/Dose Here @ http://www.petplace.com/article/drug-library/library/over-the-counter/cimetidine-hcl-tagamet)Whichever you choose, we’d give this 20 minutes before offering food to allow absorption. Of course, do check with her vet before use if she has any known health issues or is on any medications you didn’t mention. Again if she cannot keep that down, it would be a red flag to have her seen now.

Otherwise, if she can and is more settled once that absorbs, then we'd want to start her on a light/easily digestible diet. Start with a small volume (a spoonful). Examples you can use are cooked white rice with boiled chicken, boiled white fish, cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, or meat baby food (as long as its garlic/onion free). There are also OTC vet diets that can be used (ie Hill’s I/D or Royal Canin’s sensitivity) too. When you offer that spoonful, give her 30 minutes to settle. If she keeps the food down, you can give a bit more and so on. As her stomach stabilizes, you can offer more. The aim of these diets is that it will be better tolerated and absorbed by the compromised gut. Therefore, it should get more nutrients in and result in less GI upset. As long as improvement is being seen, I usually advise that the diet be continued until her signs are settled, and that they are then slowly weaned back to their normal diet.

Since dehydration is a risk here, we need to keep an eye on her hydration. To check this and ensure he’s not becoming dehydrated, there are a few things you can test. Further to checking for gum moisture, you will want to make sure her eyes are not looking sunken and that she doesn’t have a "skin tent" when you lift the skin. To see how to check these parameters for dehydration, you can find a good video HERE (http://www.ehow.com/video_12232503_dog-dehydrated.html). If you are seeing any signs of dehydration already, then that would be our cue to have her seen before this becomes an additional issue for her (especially as it is often dehydration that makes them feel unwell).

Overall, a wide range of agents could trigger the GI upset we are seeing. Still, if we also have urinary blood, then we have a risk of bladder infection as well or clotting issues. So, if there is any chance she has eaten something harmful, has pale gums, belly pain, black stool, or weakness/breathing changes; then we'd want her seen urgently. If those are not seen and hasn't just vomited, we can try the above for her.Though if she cannot keep that or water down, appears dehydrated already, or doesn’t respond to the above within 12-24 hours; then we'd want to get her vet involved. They can assess her hydration, rule out fever, make sure there is nothing in her stomach that shouldn't be there or any sinister viruses present. Depending on their findings, her vet can treat her with injectable anti-vomiting medication +/- antibiotics to settle her stomach, and get her back feeling like herself.